Contest History/Highlights 2011: Hub City Fitness Quest 1st Junior Heavyweight 1st and Overall Junior winner; Battle at the River 1st Super Heavyweight and Overall
TRIMMING DOWN “I was always really large-framed. When I was a freshman playing football [offensive guard] at Bethel University, I was all the way up to 320 pounds. I started training for bodybuilding in January of 2011 and weighed in at 245 for my first show. So from January to June, I went from a little over 300 to 245. I went from a 40-inch waist down to like a 33 for that first contest. Now I can look at the pictures and I think ‘Holy cow!’, but during that time I had no idea how big of a change I put my body through.”
MAKING HISTORY “When I made the first callout at North Americans, I remember I stood there for a second and looked down at my number and was like ‘Oh shoot, that’s me’. I guess that sums it up right there! I’m not really one to get nervous, but in life when a moment like that comes along, there is definitely something to be said for realizing the moment you’re in and appreciating it. Especially after prejudging, coming back for the night show and knowing you’ve made the first callout and have a chance to do something only a handful of people in the history of the sport have done.”
PRESSURE “Winning the Overall at that age, it’s not necessarily pressure in a bad way, but it’s definitely motivating. It makes me want t to live up to it. You look at Shawn [Ray] and I think Rich [Gaspari] – they both went pro when they were really, really young and look at their accomplishments in the sport. People expect something out of you. There’s never a moment when I lack motivation in my training and diet.“
EXPECTATIONS “I want to step on stage and make an impact next year, but I know the longer I give myself to grow a little bit and develop the better. I decided on the PBW Championships in Tampa and the Dallas Europa [Super Show]. As far as expectations, I don’t expect anything – just to beat the person I was at the North Americans. That’s all I really expect out of myself.”
SUCCESS “Anybody that’s successful in the sport I would obviously want to be compared with. Not because I think I can necessarily beat some of the older and more advanced guys, simply because you find out what you need to work on and where you fall behind. That’s the thing I look forward to the most.”
NO COMPARISON “I followed the sport since I was 15 years old, so there were obviously people I looked up to. As far as patterning my physique after anybody, I didn’t do that – that’s something I think too many people try to do. In reality, you end up pushing too hard to be something you’re not. This sport is all about developing your physique. Nobody had ever seen anything like Dorian before he came around. And the same with Ronnie. Now youv’e got Phil with those crazy arms and shoulders. Everybody who has truly been top notch in this field has brought something different, but also didn’t lack anything.“
